A Surprise
by James Storme
Summary: It is Christmas. It is the Doctors birthday. Rose decides that this day is the Doctors day.


Candles

Streamers

Balloons

Cake

Presents

Rose had decided that the Doctor needed a birthday party. Why? I don't know. You humans are so funny sometimes. But I suppose it was due to the fact that Rose had a birthday when she turned 18. It was one of those when you go to the pub with friends for a drink. Just a simple "Congratulations you made it through another boring year of your life!"

At least, that was how Rose saw it. I'm sure Mickey and Shareen saw it differently, but this story isn't about them, so I not going to dive into their opinion. Now you may think me rude for saying that, but as I said before, this is a story about Rose. I suppose it is actually a story about the Doctor. No Rose. No… the Doctor.

I know. It is a story about the Doctor and Rose. Yes, that is what this is. A small adventure with the Doctor and Rose that turns into something big.

I know you are familiar with the Doctor and Rose, if you weren't, then you wouldn't be here. So you know that they are the stuff of legends correct? Good. Now… you're probably wondering why I am rambling on at you. You must know who your narrator is. Do not fear, this is not how the entire story is, this is merely the prologue.

Back the story. Rose decided to give the Doctor a surprise birthday party. The only problem… she didn't know when his birthday was. Rose couldn't exactly ask the TARDIS since she doesn't actually _talk_. So, she had to play charades with the TARDIS. It took roughly two weeks trying to figure out when the Doctor's birthday was in the Earth year. But, like the stubborn human Rose is, she accomplished this task. She was quite proud of herself, and she should be, trying to get an answer form the TARDIS is very difficult, even for the Doctor. The TARDIS doesn't talk; she hums, sends emotions to you as her way of communicating. She flashes her lights on and off, switches room's around, annoys the Doctor to actually tell him something when she can't because _she doesn't talk._ So of course it would be difficult to get an answer, even if you are telepathic.

Did I get your attention? Well… good. But this is all I'm going to say now. If you want more, then you'll have to stick around a bit longer. I can't spoil it for you now can I? So, all you have to do is click 'Next Chapter' and we can get to the story.

Now, if you please, sit back and enjoy the story. Get your popcorn _NO._ What am I saying? Get your creative juices sparking; let someone else do the work, steal ideas if you are another writer. If you are not a writer, then enjoy this story anyway.

Ah… I almost forgot. How rude of me. You need to know the name of the narrator. My name is Storme. James Storme. A pleasure to have you here. Now… here… we… go.

J.S.

Rose sat in her room on board the TARDIS. She was trying to figure out when a complicated person's birthday was with an equally complicated Time Ship. For the first three days, all Rose had gotten out of the TARDIS where flashing lights and numerous beeping noises. It wasn't going well.

It was even harder because Rose was trying to keep this away from the Doctor. That was difficult. Plus, she and the Doctor were off saving worlds, coming back to the TARDIS exhausted and ready to sleep. So sometimes she didn't try to figure out when his birthday was because she was too tired and would try what she identified as tomorrow. Today was different.

Rose had finally found a calendar in the infinite of rooms aboard the TARDIS, so now it time to guess when the Doctor's birthday was.

"Alright, 's the Doctor's birthday in January?" The TARDIS responded in a negative, turning the lights down until it was nearly pitch black. "Well that's a 'no'." As she kept flipping through the months, she got negative answers in response.

"His birthday is in December?" The TARDIS responded with blinding light and happy chirps. It was confirmed, the Doctors birthday was somewhere in December, now, all Rose had to do was find what day his birthday was.

The TARDIS highlighted a certain day, the 25th, and started to play Christmas songs. Rose looked up at the ceiling "Why couldn't you have played Christmas music before?" The TARDIS let out an apologetic hum, making some chocolate appear. "Alright, but next time I won't be so forgiving."

Two weeks. Two weeks of trying to figure out when his birthday was. Was it worth it? Yes.

Now, all Rose had to do was get the Doctor to take her home, on Christmas. Maybe Christmas Eve would be better? No, it has to be Christmas. With her mind made up, Rose went to go look for the Time Lord.

The last time they had gone back to her mum, it was at the end of November. It would be about a month for her mum, the timing is perfect. Rose wandered into the Library, finding the Doctor reading _Harry Potter: The Goblet of Fire_. Rose had suggested the book series to him, and he has loved every word of it.

He was lying on the plush couch that sat next to the grand fireplace in the library. He had his glasses on and his hair was sticking in all directions, most likely from running his hands through while he was tinkering with the TARDIS. His posture was relaxed, no tense shoulders and creases in his face. The fire reflected off his hair, making it look even more amazing as his entire being seemed to glow. All in all, he was _absolutely gorgeous_.

Rose walked over to him, running her fingers through his hair, startling him out of his world of Harry Potter. She smiled down at him, which he returned with one of his own.

"Hello" Rose continued to run her fingers through his hair, liking the feel of his silky hair between her fingers.

The Doctor hummed and leaned into her touch. "Hello"

"So, I was wondering if we could go to my mum'." The Doctor opened his eyes to look at her.

"What? Why? We just saw your mum." He whined at her, but didn't move, letting Rose continue to massage his head. She raised an eyebrow at his childness, extremely bemused at his behavior.

"Cause Doctor, I want to see her, an' I want to give her that gift." A few days ago the Doctor had taken Rose to the planet Planiel Six. The people were nice, and they had the best market in the entire universe. Rose had gotten two bottles of perfume, one for her and one for her mum. Rose gave the Doctor her pleading eyes, asking silently if they could go.

The Doctor sighed in defeat. "Fine, we'll go see your mum." The Doctor jumped to his feet and grabbed Roses hand, dragging her behind him. They reached the console room in no time (37.45 seconds according to the Doctor) and started the journey to Roses mum.

"So, Rose Tyler, _when_ do you want to see your mum?"

"Early Christmas morning." Rose responded immediately, giving him a smile. He smiled back and punched in the coordinates. The TARDIS shook as they made their landing. The sound of laughter could be heard throw-out all of the TARDIS. Finally the TARDIS landed with thud.

The Doctor and Rose lay on the grating, laughing hysterically at the bumpy ride. Finally the Doctor got up and pulled Rose to her feet. "Here we are Rose Tyler, Christmas at the Powell Estate 2008!"

Rose ran out of the TARDIS doors as she had already pulled on her coat, and ran to her mum. Jackie had heard the signature sound of the TARDIS, and had waited outside for her daughter. Mother and daughter came together in a hug, the Doctor standing outside of the TARDIS with a small smile at the scene. Jackie let go of Rose and went to give the Doctor a small hug.

"What was that for?" He asked her with wide eyes. Usually Jackie just made a remark about all danger that he puts Rose in with their adventures, but she never gave him a hug. It was a bit strange.

"That's for bringing Rose 'ome for Christmas. Now come on! 's freezing out here!" With that, Jackie herded the Doctor and Rose into her flat. There was a tree that Jackie herself had bought (one that she knew wouldn't try to kill anyone) and had put presents under it. She littler figurines of people ice skating on the mantel, as well as one or two snow globs. On the tele was a Christmas movie playing on a rerun all day. The flat had the perfect cozy felling for Christmas.

"So, you two are 'ere early, going to do anything?" Jackie asked, looking back and forth at them. Rose had the day planned out, now she had to get the Doctor to go along with it.

"Yeah, I thought I could do some things with the Doctor." The Doctor looked up from the figurine he had picked. Rose want over to grab it out of his hand setting it back on the mantel.

"Oi! I was looking at that!" The Doctor said with a whine. Rose just gave him an innocent smile and went in to the kitchen.

"Yeah but you better not break anythin you 'ear me?" Jackie asked with a pointed finger. She was not going to let some alien break her things, not if she had any say. "Now, why don' you jus sit down and relax, stay a while." With that Jackie went in to the kitchen with her daughter.

"The two of you, mad you are!" Jackie said behind her should as she began to make tea. "Always get' in into the trouble the pair of ya. So, anythin I need to worry about this year?"

"No, Mum. There's nothin to worry about this year. I was wonderin if you could help me with something." Rose went to stand by her mother now, helping her with the tea.

"What do you need sweat 'eart?"

"I was wondering if you could make a cake. You see, it's the Doctor's birthday today and I wanted to do somethin for him." Jackie raised an eyebrow at her daughter but didn't interrupt.

"So, what you wanna do for him then?" Jackie finally asked as she leaned against the sink. "I ain't lettin anythin goin under my roof though, you hear me?"

"Mum! That's not what I meant! I just want you make him a nice little cake, is that too much to ask for? Why can't a girl and a bloke just be friends?"

"Alright, alright. Whatever you say Rose. I'll make him a cake. But you better get rid of him before he finds out. I'm guessing you want it to be a surprise?" Rose nodded her head as she went back to the living room to sit with the Doctor.

The Doctor sat on the couch, staring at the ceiling. He wasn't doing anything, just staring. Rose found him like this many times in the library, staring at the fire lost in thought. It was one of the few moments that Rose was able to get a good look at the Doctor. Long legs and lean figure, perfect hair with almost matching eyes, in every respect, he was beautiful.

"Doctor, do you wanna do somethin?" The Doctor looked up at her with a start and smiled.

"Of course I would like to do something! What are we doing?" He turned wide eyes on her and waited for her answer. The Doctor was always surprising Rose, it was nice to give him a surprise for a change.

"I thought we could do some ice skating?" It was a tradition of Roses to always go ice skating at least once during winter. Of course, she hadn't been able to do it last year with the Sycorax and the Doctors regeneration, but this year was different.

"Oh ice skating… I don't know if I can ice skate." He confessed, and now that she thought about it, he never has gone ice skating in this body. He had told her once that regeneration can change what your good at. In his last body he never played the piano, said that it was too sad for him. Now he always plays it all the time, he even lets Rose listen to him play. Who know, maybe he'll be able to ice skate as good as he plays the piano.

"Don't worry; I'm sure you'll get the hang of it." She gave him a gentle smile as her mum tried to get them out the door.

"Alright you two, if you ain't gonna help with dinner, then you might as well go do something. Go on, have fun." With that, the Doctor and Rose went to go ice skating.

They went to an outdoor arena with a massive, glittering Christmas tree. The lights shone a pale yellow, and there were decorations of every color.

Getting the ice skates was nothing but amusing as the Doctor couldn't decide between keeping his trouser legs in the skates, or out the skates. "Really, how am I supposed to know? I've never been ice skating."

There was also the fact that the Doctor kept complaining that skates were too tight since Rose had to tie them. "But Rose," he continued whining "they hurt. Do they have to hurt?"

"Doctor, 's not that bad, yeah? 'Sides, you'll get used to it soon enough."

With that Rose skated onto the ice. It was a bit tricky at first, but she found her balance instantly. After she skated to the tree in the middle of the arena, it was then she noticed that the Doctor wasn't with her. She turned around and saw him standing at the edge of the ice, contemplating if he should go after her or stay where he is. Rose sighed to herself as she skated back over to him.

"I don't know if I can skate." He repeated as she skated up to him. He kept looking at the ice, fidgeting a bit at the fact that it was hard for him to move with the skates.

Rose took his hand in hers and gave him a smile. He looked down at her with a look that she couldn't place, but she kept on smiling at him. "I won't let you fall." She promised to him, and he nodded his head.

She led him carefully onto the ice, never letting go of his hand as he found his balance on the slippery surface. He caught on quickly from watching other people and from the encouragement from Rose. Eventually he didn't need Roses hand, but wouldn't go far as he would falter every now and then. There came a point where Rose lost track of where the Doctor was, only to find him right behind her holding onto her shoulders.

The Doctor was a fast learner, and soon they were playing tag on the ice. They skated after each other, laughing in glee as everyone around them kept moving forward. Rose was skating fast enough that she crashed into the Doctor, causing them to break into a fit of hysterical laughter.

The Doctor and Rose skated for what felt like hours. Eventually they wandered off the ice for search of some hot chocolate. After they got their hot chocolate, the Doctor and Rose found a bench to sit at. As they sat on the bench, Rose rested her head on the Doctors shoulder. He let out a contented sigh as he rested his cheek on her head.

"Thank you Rose," The Doctor said into her hair as they watched the tree, "Thank you for this day."

Rose pulled away to look at him, wondering if he knew of her plans. Something in his eyes told her that he didn't know, and she smiled at him. "Who says this day is over?"

"What?"

"There's this shop that's always open on Christmas." The Doctor stared at her with wide eyes, waiting for her to continue. "I was wondering if you wanted to go see it."

The Doctor gave her a smile and stood up. "Well… what are we waiting for? Lead the way Rose Tyler!"

With that, Rose and the Doctor left the skating arena. The streets were still fairly busy as everyone was preparing for Christmas dinner. On the way to the store someone, a familiar someone, ran into the Doctor.

"Jack?" Rose asked incredulously. "What are you doing here?"

"Rosie? Where the hell have you been? You left me! I had to find my own way back to Earth!" Jack said in a hurt voice, staring at Rose for an answer.

"Jack, I am so sorry, but we went back for you and you weren't there." The Doctor explained, and it was true. They had gone back to Satellite Five after they left her mums, only to be greeted with an abandoned station. They had checked all the databanks on Earth, but found nothing. Jack Harkness doesn't exist.

"Who are you? You're not the Doctor." Jack said, baking away. He looked from Rose the Doctor, wondering what was going on.

"This is the Doctor." Rose said as she squeezed the Doctors hand. Jack merely looked at them in confusion.

"I was dying so I regenerated to save my own life. Every single cell has been changed, but it's still me." The Doctor said to Jack. Jack kept looking at them, but seemed to be okay with this new information.

"So… what are you doing in London?" Jack asked.

"Oh, we're going to this shop that Rose said was always open on Christmas, wanna join us?" The Doctor asked as they continued walking.

"Might as well. I've got nothing else to do." And so, off they went.

J.S.

The trio talked about what they done in the past year. Jack was head of an institution called Torchwood, and because it was Christmas, his team was at home doing what they did every year. So, Jack thought '_What the hell?'_ and went for a little road trip to London.

Every now and then he would sneak glances at the Doctor and Rose, holding holds and swinging then softly as they walked along. There was look in their eyes that Jack had seen in not many people, but it spoke volumes. No wonder people always mistook them for a couple. Jack would have to Rose later.

They reached the store which was much bigger than the Doctor thought it would be. It was called _Vida Aventura, _or Life Adventure. It had everything from books to toys to trinkets to clothes. It was the ultimate Christmas store for the perfect gift.

"Alright, let's split up and meet back here in an hour?" Rose looked form the Doctor to Jack, waiting for their nod of agreement.

The Doctor wandered off one aisle, getting lost in the crowd of people. Jack decided to stay with Rose and learn more about the year that has passed without him.

"So…" Jack said as trailed behind Rose in the book section. "You and the Doctor."

Rose looked back at him from the astronomy book she was thinking of getting for the Doctor. "Come on, spit it out."

"Tell me you two are together now."

"No."

"No you won't tell me or no you aren't together?" Jack asked with raised eyebrows.

"No as in we aren't together." Rose said as she walked away with the astronomy book to another section.

"What? How are you not together? I know a gorgeous person when I see one, and I know a gorgeous couple when I see one. You two fit the deal." Jack said as he kept fallowing Rose.

"Jack, he isn't like that, he doesn't _do_ that." Rose said as she finally turned around to look at him. Jack just gave her a knowing smile.

"But what if he's waiting for you to make the move? What if he's too scared to make a move because he thinks you don't want that?" With that, Jack went to go find the Doctor as Rose pondered over Jacks words.

Jack found the Doctor in an aisle with charms for a necklace. A necklace for a special someone perhaps, by the looks of it. Jack came behind the Doctor and put his hand on the aliens shoulder, making the alien in question jump and turn around with wide eyes. "Are you going to get that for Rose?" Jack asked as he pointed at the charm the Doctor was holding.

"Maybe, I might…" The charm was a red rose in an upside down raindrop. It wasn't too big or too small, it was the perfect size. "Do you think she'll like it?"

"Doc, I think she'll love it." Jack started to lead the Doctor to one of the many cash registers in the store, and while they waited in line, he asked the Doctor a few questions.

"So, Doc, when are you going to make your move on Rose?" The question was so straight forward that the Doctor looked at Jack with wide eyes, unable to make an answer.

"Uhh… well… I…err…" The Doctor kept trying to grab an answer, but none came to him. Jack understood that he was having a hard time coming up with an answer, so he took charge of the situation.

"The way I see it Doc, you and Rose have been travelling together for two years now, and you both love each other." Jack continued on even as the Doctor made a sound of protest. "So, you can either move on with your relationship, or you can keep dancing along with it, never having what you could have all along." Jack guided the Doctor to the cash register in his dazed state of mind at what Jack had told him. Would it be okay to have something with Rose? Would it stay strong and not shatter? Would their friendship still be there, but as _more_?"

Jack continued to guide the Doctor to where they were supposed to meet with Rose. "Wha-?" The Doctor asked halfway there, not catching what Jack had been saying.

"I said, you paid for Roses present, just so you know, stole your wallet." Jack said with a cheeky grin as he held it up to the Doctors face.

"Oi!" The Doctor exclaimed as he grabbed the wallet out of Jacks hand.

"There you two are, ready to go?" Rose asked as she approached the Doctor and Jack.

"Yeah, we're ready." The Doctor said as they left the store.

"Jack, do you want to come over for dinner?" Rose asked as they kept walking. Jack shrugged his shoulders and smiled at Rose.

"Might as well." He said with a smile.

No too long after Jack agreed to stay for dinner, the trio reached Jackie's flat. Once there, Jack shamelessly started flirting with Jackie. Of course, this came to no surprise to the Doctor and Rose, but that didn't mean that they approved of it.

"Stop it!" The Doctor said at the same time as Rose yelled "Jack, that's my mum!"

"I don't see her complaining." Jack retorted. And while that may be true, Jackie still had a lot of work to do and she would not be distracted. So, the Doctor, Rose and Jack sat in the living room listening to the music playing on the telly.

The Doctor and Rose had put their new presents under the tree, and even Jack had snuck in a present. Eventually, Jackie joined them with tea for everyone as they waited for Jackie's finishing touches. At one point, Jackie had Rose and Jack fallow her into the kitchen leaving the Doctor alone in the living room, with the telly. Jackie decided to make this short before she had to buy a new telly.

"Alright, I have the Doctors cake done." Jackie said to them both, but Jack just looked at them confused.

"Wait… what?" was all Jack could ask.

In all the catching up, Rose had forgotten to tell Jack that it was the Doctors birthday today. Rose had thought of telling him in the store, but then he had asked her questions and distracted her. By the time she remembered what she was going to tell him, he was gone.

"It's the Doctors birthday today an' we're throwing him a surprise party." Rose said as she looked at the cake her mother had made. The frosting was a dark blue, almost matching the wood of the TARDIS, and in white frosting, Jackie had written _Happy Birthday Doctor!_ It was perfect.

"Ah" Jack said as he too looked at the cake. "I think he will be very happy at your motion of great kindness on this oh so rare occasion Rosie." Jack said with a grin.

Rose swatted at his arm playfully. "Shut up."

Jack chuckled at bit until turning relatively serious again. "Yeah, but I think he really will like it Rosie." Jack said. "I'm sure he'll appreciate it."

"Alright, one of you go back in there and keep him entertained so he doesn't wander in here _or_ mess up my telly." Jackie started to shoo them towards the door until Jack offered to help with the finishing touches to dinner.

Rose went back into the living room to meet with the sight of the Doctor looking at some pictures of her as a little girl. He had a smile on his face as he ghosted his fingers over the frames, and Rose couldn't help but savor the moment.

He turned around and his smile grew at the sight of her. She gave a smile back to him and sat on the couch. She patted the spot next to her, indicating that he should sit next to her.

He obeyed and sat next to her on the couch, but she moved his head to her lap so she could comb her fingers through his hair.

The Doctor purred as Rose ran her fingers through his hair. They had done this many times on the TARDIS, but never in Jackie's flat. The Doctor was finding that he really didn't care as he closed his eyes and relaxed at the soothing touches of Rose Tyler.

Jack walked in a bit later, seeing the Doctor relaxing in Roses lap, and tried to hide a smile.

"Can I get in on that?" He asked.

"No." The Doctor answered immediately, opening one eye to look at him. "No you can't"

"Dinner's ready!" Jackie called from the kitchen, setting the food on the table that Jack had prepared. Rose made the Doctor sit up to his great disappointment. Once everyone was at the table, they began to eat. The Doctor never ate much, and Christmas was no acception.

Jackie was determined to get some meat on his bones though, so she took over for, piling his plate with a mountain of food.

"There, that's better." She said while he gave her a weak smile.

"Thank you?"

Even though Jackie had given him a lot of food, it didn't mean he would eat it. Not too long after Jackie had sat down at her own chair, the Doctor started to play with his food.

Stories were told as they ate dinner, and soon enough, it was time for cake.

"Doctor, let me see your tie." Rose held out her hand, waiting for the Doctor to hand his tie over.

"Why?" He asked, looking from his tie to her hand back to his tie.

"Trust me, yeah?" The Doctor nodded his head and gave her his tie. She got up from her seat and took his tie in hand, walking behind him. Once she was behind him, she began to tie his tie over his eyes. He tried to jerk away from her hands, but she told him everything was alright and he let her continue.

Jackie had gone back into the kitchen to get the Doctors cake. Jack got some matches for the candles and went to go turn off the lights. The Doctor started to turn his head, listening to what was going on around him, and all the while Rose was standing next to him.

Jackie finally came out with the cake. Since Jackie didn't know how old the Doctor was, she only put one candle in the cake. Jack went over to the cake and lit the match. As the match hit the candle, Jackie turned to the still blindfolded Time Lord.

"Alright birthday boy." Jackie said as she went to stand at the other end of the table.

"'Birthday boy'?" The Doctor asked confused.

Rose took off his blindfold with a flourish and they began to sing. The Doctor stared at the cake as the song continued with the biggest smile on his face.

"Come on Doc, make a wish." Jack said when the song came to an end and the Doctor hadn't blown out the candle. He thought for a minute longer until he made his and blew out the one candle. They clapped as Jack turned the lights back on. The Doctor got up to give Rose a bone crushing hug.

"Alright!" Jackie called out. "As Rose knows, in this family, it is tradition that the first person to get cake is the birthday person. So, happy birthday Doctor." Jackie said as she handed the Doctor the first piece of cake. It was a corner piece, which just so happened to have the most amount of sugar. Rose wouldn't lie and say it was good to give the Doctor sugar, but today was his day so he could have all the sugar in the world.

"Thank you Jackie." The Doctor said as he accepted the blue chocolate cake from her. Never let it be said that the Doctor doesn't love cake.

"Oh hush you and eat your cake." Jackie replied as she continued to cut up more pieces of cake.

As they continued to eat their cake, they wandered into the living room to the Christmas tree. There were four presents that were wrapped, and two that were in small bags. Jackie went over to the tree to hand out all the presents. Two of the wrapped ones went to the Doctor, one to Rose, and one to both the Doctor and Rose. One of the presents in a bag went to Jackie, and the other one went to Jack. Jackie said that the Doctor had to open one of his presents first since it was still Christmas, and Jackie and Rose had always done a chain.

The Doctor opened the smaller of the two presents. It was wrapped in silver and blue wrapping paper with a silver bow on top. As the Doctor carefully unwrapped the paper, black leather could be seen. It was a journal.

The journal was made out of black leather, with a clasp on the front. There were circular designs, clockwork designs that looked very much like circular Gallifreyen, the Doctors native language. The Doctor turned to Rose with a smile and gave her another bone crushing hug. "Thank you." He said quietly when he pulled away.

It was Jacks turn next, and the present was from Rose. He pulled out the massive amounts of paper that were stuffed into the bag, a rainbow of colored paper. When he thought that he had accidently pulled out his present with the paper, he saw a book. He pulled out the medium sized hard cover book and looked at the title. _The Ties That Bind Us_ was what the cover read. Jack had wanted the book when he was travelling with the Doctor and Rose, but had never gotten the time to get it, and the TARDIS library didn't have it.

"Thanks Rosie… I was meaning to get this." Jack said as he looked at the book from all angels. He even sniffed the paper as everyone else gave him odd looks. "What? New books smell amazing in case you didn't know."

Jackie opened her present next. The perfume smelled absolutely divine. It was spring with the smell of flowers and honey in the air. Jackie was thankful for it, she needed a new perfume to try, even if it was from an alien market, it could always remind her of Rose.

Now it was Roses turn. Her present was in one of those boxes were the box _was _the wrapping paper. She undid the light purple bow on top, and opened the white and purple box. She gasped at what she found inside. Inside was the rose in the upside raindrop that the Doctor had bought in the store. The perfect size, the perfect charm, for the perfect girl, the Doctor thought to himself. The Doctor took the necklace from Roses hand and went to stand behind her. He put the necklace on her and the charm rested just below her collar bone.

Rose turned to the Doctor and gave him a hug "'s beautiful" She said into his shoulder. She pulled away and gave him his other present. "You still have another present to open."

The Doctor gave her a grin and took the present from her outstretched hand. This wrapping paper was black and green, and it felt like a book. As the Doctor tore off the paper, the cover showed constellations in the Milky Way. It was the astronomy book Jack had seen with Rose. He knew she was getting it for him.

"Thank you Rose!" The Doctor exclaimed as he flipped through the pages. Jack patted the Doctor on the shoulder and pointed to the book.

"Can I see it for a minute?" The Doctor nodded his head and gave the book to Jack. Jack then proceeded to open the book to a random page and took a sniff of the pages. He made a contented sigh as he gave the book back to the Doctor. "Love the smell of new books." He murmured to himself.

The Doctor gave the last present to Rose, which was to both of them. Rose tried to protest, but the Doctor was hearing none of it. "I already opened two presents; it's only fair that you open this one." With that, the Doctor shoved the book in Roses hands. Rose shrugged her shoulders as she opened the present.

Inside were wind chimes. "I know you two spend a lot of time in the garden; I figured you might as well add some decorations." Jack said as the Doctor and Rose examined the wind chimes.

"Thank you, Jack." The Doctor and Rose said at the same time.

"Why don't you two go put your things away then we can watch a good 'ol classic." Jackie said to the Doctor and Rose. They knew she was talking about the TARDIS, otherwise she would have said Roses room. They both got up to go to the TARDIS, promising to be back in five minutes.

"Take all the time you need!" Jack yelled as they closed the door to the flat.

Once they were in the TARDIS, the Doctor and Rose went their separate ways. On the way back to the console room, Rose went past the Doctor's room, but stopped in the doorway.

The Doctor was standing in front of a book case, holding a journal, but not the one Rose had gotten him. No, this one was beaten and battered, but still in good shape. Rose wandered into the room, wondering why it had captivated his attention.

"You know my mum got me a journal." The Doctor said as Rose wandered more into the room. "She gave it to me when I was eight years old."

Rose went to stand next to him now, staring down as the journal in his hand. This one was brown and had a string of circular patterns on the front. It was his name.

"Mum said it was so I wouldn't forget a moment at the academy, but I think it was because she wanted to feel closer to me, because I had to leave home."

"Why did you have to leave?"

"To become a Time Lord." He answered. "At the age of eight, we're taken to the untampered schism to start becoming a Time Lord. Imagine Rose, all of time and space in front of you. Weeel… you don't have to imagine, you did that when you looked into the heart of the TARDIS. But I was only eight years old. It amazed me and terrified me. I ran from it. I supposed I never stopped." The Doctor was lost in his memories, his eyes going distant as he looked at place that only existed in his mind now.

Rose gave him hug, pulling him out of his memories. He hugged her back and they stood there for a bit. Eventually, Rose pulled away.

"Come on, they're probably waiting for us." Rose pulled on the Doctors hand as he put the journal back on the book case, and allowed himself to be dragged out of the TARDIS.

Once they reached the console room Rose froze. The Doctor kept walking forward until he came to the doors of the TARDIS. He looked over his shoulder to see Rose frozen in place. "Are you coming?" He asked her with a raised brow.

"Yeah, 's just…" She trailed off as she slowly walked towards him.

He raised both brows now, making him have doe eyes. "It's just what?"

Rose nodded he head to something above his head. "Mistletoe." Was the only thing Rose said.

The Doctor looked up to see that there was in fact mistletoe. He went to say something to Rose but found that he was incapable as Rose had kissed him.

He kissed her back with a gentle slide of his lips against hers. Rose had put her hands in his hair, running them through the silky strands, and the Doctor had put his hands on her waist. While the kiss didn't go further than the gentle slide of lips, it was still perfect, because it was _them_. It was the Doctor and Rose, that stuff of legends, together as it should be.

They pulled back at the same time, resting their foreheads against each together. Their eyes opened slowly as they gave each other a small smile.

"Happy birthday Doctor."

"Merry Christmas Rose."


End file.
